There are four important by-elections underway right now in Alberta. The vote is on Monday. The Premier, the Health Minister, and the Education Minister have their names on ballots in three of the four ridings. Jim Prentice, Stephen Mandel (above, pictured in 2006), and Gordon Dirks, of course, are all members of the longest-ruling-party in Canadian history, the Alberta Progressive Conservatives.
The PCs, though, are in trouble mostly because a lot of Albertans seem disgusted with a sense of entitlement that has grown around the party. Using government aircraft to fly family and friends around. A former premier’s plan to build a multi-million dollar “sky palace” apartment for herself in Edmonton. And so on.
The opposition Wildrose Party are taking full advantage of this “target-rich” environment with some well-timed direct hits using information it received using access-to-information laws. It scored again Wednesday, unveiling the fact that Mandel (above), running for the PCs in Edmonton-Whitemud, expenses $69,000 worth of Edmonton Oilers tickets to taxpayers when he was the mayor of Edmonton. Continue reading In Alberta, the opposition scores direct hits using Access to Information laws